What type of lens was used in this picture?

[tactile]

http://19.media.tumblr.com/235_r4_400.jpg

 

[tsaraleksi]

Could be anything... there's nothing about that photo that indicates the use of any one particular lens.

 

[musicaleCA]

That effect is caused by a wide-open aperture. Looks like the focus point is a bit closer to the camera than the man in the frame.

 

[tactile]

Well, I'm looking to purchase a lens that is capable of focusing on one subject, and blurring the background- do you know of any?

 

[tactile]

Oh alright, how would I go about opening the aperture to that degree?

 

[Baaaark]

Start with a 50mm 1.8. Depending on what brand of camera you have.

You get that desired effect by making your aperture or f-stop as low of a number as possible. This effect will not be able to be achieved on point and shoot cameras, though.

 

[tactile]

Alright thank you. So confession; I don't know how/ which way to adjust the aperture. I know its the A mode. I'm using a nikon D40- the highest number when i turn it to the right it will go is 32 right now, it also has little [ + ] and two others that go vertically- what are those and what do they do?

 

[musicaleCA]

Hrmm...You need to learn your exposure. F-stops, shutter speed, and ISO. Learn how those interrelate and effect your image, first, then worry about getting nice bokeh (the blurry background). Start by reading your manual, front to back. Once you have your bearings and how depth of field works, and how you would achieve strong bokeh, then it's time to consider a lens that will get you there.

Where are Samanax's links when we need 'em? :greenpbl:

Edit: Ah, found 'em.

Digital Photography Tips For Beginners

Digital Photography Composition Tips

 

[Dao]

In Aperture, the smaller the number means the larger the aperture.

The aperture of F/4.0 is larger than F/5.6


So if you are looking for a lens that can produce an image that the subject is in focus, the background is out of focus, you can look for a FAST lens in which has a smaller Maximum Aperture (i.e. F/1.8)

Also a telephoto lens can produce the blur background effect with a relatively larger aperture setting (i.e. F/5.6)

But you may need to read more about Depth of Field. It is because a large aperture will not guarantee you such effect. For example, you use a 50mm F/1.8 lens and shoot at F/1.8 aperture. The subject is 100ft away from your camera and the background is about 150ft away from the camera. You may notice that both the subject and the background are in focus.

 

[redtippmann]

all right if you want a low DOF you have to open the irus (sg1 reference ) you want it to be the lowest number. so if you hsve a kit lens that would be around 3 or 4. But in that picture nothing is in focus (that i can tell) so you would switch the auto focus to manual and twist the focus ring till you get the desired effect.

edit: ok well I type slow so the two post above me explained it better.

 

[Samanax]

Examples For Understanding Depth Of Field

Tutorial: Depth Of Field

Understanding Depth Of Field

 

[vd853]

Either it was carefully taken with a prime lens, then cropped, or it was taken using a tilt-shift lens.